The federal prosecutors who signed a plea agreement with Florida millionaire Jeffrey Epstein broke the law, a judge said Thursday. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra ruled that the prosecutors involved in the sex-trafficking case, including then-Florida prosecutor and current Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act by not keeping Epstein's victims informed about the agreement, per Politico. After the deal, which resolved a case in which Epstein was accused of building a "cult-like network" of girls coerced into sexual acts, Epstein ultimately served 13 months in prison. Acosta agreed to seal the plea deal, which meant dozens of Epstein's accusers never knew about the deal or were able to testify against him. The Labor Department did not comment on the ruling.

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5 things you need to know now

Trump declares support for Israeli sovereignty over disputed Golan Heights

President Trump on Thursday tweeted his support for recognizing Golan Heights as Israeli territory. Syria and Israel have fought over the 460-square mile plateau for more than half a century; it was Syrian land until Israel seized it in 1967. "After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and regional stability," Trump wrote. His public support came just a day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu has been pushing for the U.S. to support Israel's control over the region, in part to boost support for his re-election campaign.

Facebook on Thursday acknowledged having stored hundreds of millions of user passwords in plain text when they should have been encrypted. This followed a report from cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs that said this has been happening "in some cases going back to 2012." Krebs reported that "between 200 million and 600 million" users have been affected. In a blog post, Facebook didn't provide an exact number but said it would notify "hundreds of millions" of affected Facebook and Instagram users. These unencrypted passwords were reportedly searchable in a database that could be accessed by 20,000 Facebook employees. Facebook says it discovered this during a security review in January but found "no evidence to date that anyone internally abused or improperly accessed the passwords."

Six days after a gunman murdered at least 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern effectively banned the sale of AR-15s and all similar assault rifles Thursday afternoon. "Related parts used to convert these guns into [military-style semi-automatics] MSSAs are also being banned, along with all high-capacity magazines," she said. These changes will require legislation, and Ardern said she expects the bans to be enshrined in law by April 11, with a buy-back program put in place afterward. In the meantime, the government has immediately reclassified "virtually all" of the weapons she mentioned so purchasing them now requires a special permit from the police.

The death toll from Cyclone Idai continued to rise in southern Africa on Wednesday, with more than 200 people confirmed dead in Mozambique and at least 100 more victims in neighboring Zimbabwe. Floodwaters were forecast to continue to rise on Thursday, with more torrential rains expected. "Floodwaters are predicted to rise significantly in the coming days and 350,000 people are at risk," the United Nations humanitarian office said. Aid groups have been struggling to rescue survivors, some awaiting help on rooftops. Entire villages have been destroyed. "There is death all over," said a survivor, Amos Makunduwa, who carried his remaining possessions in a bag.

No. 10 Minnesota unseated No. 7 Louisville, 86-76, in the first game of the NCAA men's basketball tournament Thursday. After coming in with the lowest 3-pointer average in the field, Minnesota posted a typical 11 long shots against the Cardinals to win. No. 3 LSU followed up with a surprisingly narrow 79-74 win over No. 14 Yale that afternoon. First round games continue through Friday, with highly anticipated Kansas-Northeastern and Marquette-Murray State matchups slated for Thursday. Syracuse is set to face Mercer on Thursday night without guard Frank Howard after he violated an unspecified athletic department policy. The tournament field was settled Wednesday night when First Four games wrapped up. No. 11 Arizona State won its entry-level game to face No. 6 Buffalo, while North Dakota State will play top seed Duke, both on Friday.